The Pizza Party of Performative Awareness

Let’s talk about the calendar.

We are currently navigating the annual gauntlet of American “appreciation.” You know the drill: Black History Month, Women’s History Month, AAPI Heritage Month, Pride Month, Juneteenth, Hispanic Heritage Month—punctuated by federal holidays that give us a three-day weekend to grill meat while vaguely acknowledging that someone, somewhere, once fought for something.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a good parade as much as the next therapist who needs an excuse to buy glitter. But let’s call a spade a spade (and a structural inequity a structural inequity). Most of these observances have become the sociopolitical equivalent of a staff pizza party.

Imagine you work 60-hour weeks. Your salary hasn’t kept up with inflation. Your boss misgenders you in meetings. The HR department has a "diversity" poster that is five years out of date. And then, one Friday, they wheel in a lukewarm sheet pizza and a two-liter of soda as a “thank you for all you do.”

Are you grateful? No. You are insulted. Because a slice of pepperoni is not a living wage, a rainbow logo in June is not structural safety, and a Juneteenth paper plate from Target—complete with a cursive font and a barcode—is absolutely not reparations.

This is the mental health trap of the annual holiday cycle

We are asked to feel good for 28 days about the resilience of Black folks, while redlining continues to dictate zip codes and health outcomes. We are asked to celebrate "women's empowerment" in March, while the patriarchy still dictates who gets listened to in a doctor’s office (spoiler: not the woman in pain). We are asked to wave flags for Pride, while trans youth are legislated out of existence in state capitols. And we are asked to commemorate emancipation with a cookout, while carceral systems and debt peonage carry on like the 13th Amendment's loophole was a suggestion, not a scandal.

It’s not that recognition is bad

Representation matters. But recognition without reparation is just lip service. And lip service, as we know in this line of work, is a defense mechanism. It’s avoidance. It’s the nation saying, "I see you!" so it doesn't have to say, "I owe you."

Here is the uncomfortable truth that keeps many of us—especially those who are QTPOC, leftist, and deeply exhausted—lying awake at 3 AM: The stress isn't in your head. It’s in the structure.

Colonization didn't end; it just rebranded as corporate real estate. Capitalism isn't a neutral economic system; it’s a machine that grinds down the mentally ill, the disabled, and the poor for profit. White supremacy isn't just about hoods; it’s about who gets the benefit of the doubt when they walk into a grocery store. Patriarchy isn't just about glass ceilings; it’s about the violence of being perceived. Class divisions aren't just awkward dinner party talk; they determine whether you get therapy or just get told to "breathe" by someone who has never had to choose between rent and medication.

These aren't "political" issues in a vacuum. They are the weather of your life. They are the context of your trauma. They are the water you swim in.

To pretend that a federal holiday honoring Dr. King absolves us of the ongoing genocide and systemic neglect is gaslighting on a national scale. To pretend that Juneteenth is best celebrated by picking up a themed tablecloth from the seasonal aisle is... well, it’s a choice. To pretend that a "Mental Health Awareness Month" (yes, May, I see you) is effective when therapy is still financially inaccessible to the majority of the working class is, frankly, a little obnoxious.

So, what do we do with this awareness?

First, we stop feeling guilty for not feeling "festive." If you are having an anxiety spike during the "most wonderful time of the year," it’s not because you are broken. It’s because your nervous system correctly recognizes that a system built on extraction is not actually a safe space for your existence.

Second, we name it. We don't just talk about "family dynamics"—we talk about how capitalism forces those family dynamics into survival mode. We don't just talk about "self-esteem"—we talk about how white supremacist beauty standards set that bar impossibly high.

Third, we reserve the right to opt out. You don't have to participate in the performative joy. You can let Black History Month be a time for quiet study, not corporate performative allyship. You can let Juneteenth be a day of rest, reflection, or radical education—not a trip to big-box retail for matching napkins. And you can let Thanksgiving be a day for eating yummy food and (it doesn’t even need to be turkey) leftovers and making an effort to talk about there not being any friendliness or warmth in that ridiculous "pilgrims and Natives" narrative.

We have to stop treating the symptom (the stress) while ignoring the pathogen (the -isms)

So, the next time someone asks you why you aren't more excited about the upcoming holiday, feel free to tell them: "I'm saving my energy for the structural overhaul, not the sheet pizza."

And if they look confused, just remind them that healing isn't about making peace with the system. Sometimes, healing is about acknowledging that the system is making you sick, and refusing to say thank you for the crumbs.

Disclosure: This blog article was written with the assistance of AI, however the topic, themes, sociopolitical perspectives, tone and style were derived solely from the author.